Move Free is run by me, Georgina Ramos. I was initially drawn to Pilates in my mid-20s. Working in office jobs after leaving school had left me with chronic lower back pain, and through my own practice and attempts to self-heal I realised I had more of an interest in the body and how it works than other participants seemed to, so I decided to retrain as an instructor so that I could share this new passion with others (and therefore be able to leave the office job!).
I trained with Modern Pilates and obtained my formal qualification as a level 3 instructor in June 2013, although this was after several years of self-practice and teaching practice as an apprentice. Since then my learning and training has been continuous, not just through meeting all the wonderful and varied clients I have come across but also by keeping up my training through regular workshops and courses.
I trained in a method called Be Activated which involves the activation of certain trigger points on the body in order to ensure that muscles are firing in the correct order, providing people with a stronger connection with their mind and body.At the same I time undertook a Classical Pilates training qualification through Corpus Pilates, incorporating the Classical Pilates method including both matwork and equipment like the Reformer.
The Classical Pilates and Be Activated had some variance in paradigms which left me feeling confused as to the right path to take. The activation is a manual therapy and although it can be incorporated into a movement class I found the best results were obtained when I could get hands on. As my career continued I was finding gaps in my knowledge of how we best function as human beings, and found more and more in my own body that emotions and environment had a huge part to play in overall well-being.
I began to read about the science of how our emotions affect how we feel through our hormones, and how we are able to manage them rather than being at their mercy. I also started to read and learn about biomechanics and natural movement, which seemed to make sense in terms of experiencing our feelings and movement in a safe environment in order to build strength and mobility with kindness and patience.
That was when I came across the Academy of Applied Movement Neurology, a course I am currently undertaking and which is adding a whole new level of understanding of neurology, the nervous system and will eventually incorporate more understanding of the endocrine and immune systems. I’m barely scratching the surface of what there is to learn but am excited for what the future brings!
Amongst the many clients I see on a regular basis there is such huge variety in their needs, whether it be back, shoulder, knee or foot issues. It might be ladies who are expecting or post-partum, athletes or sedentary office workers (or both, which can leave one even more prone to injury). Perhaps some have been told(or simply believe because that’s the current status quo) thattheir issues are down to their ‘age’ or ‘wear and tear’ and should just be accepted. Perhaps it’s not their age but their genes that leave them out of control. Across the board what I see is that our bodies are crying out for a better way to move, that we can all improve how we move, breathe and allow ourselves to feel and pay attention all the time, not just for an hour a week. We might feel isolated and not realise how much that affects pain levels because we’re designed to connect with others, or we might not realise that to sleep better we need to get outside in nature more, or at least see the full spectrum of daylight at different times of day and be exposed to less artificial blue lights at night. Above all, we need to move more to feel better!
to visit Georginas website …